At the market leader

Deposit boosts sales of water dispensers

More and more companies are opting for fresh water in the workplace instead of a flood of plastic.(Bild: Culligan)

A deposit on disposable drinks bottles will be introduced next year. But more and more companies are already providing water dispensers for their employees, and younger people in particular are pushing for them. Market leader Culligan alone has already installed 32,000, and this figure could double in the long term.

"It has become common practice for employees to come to work in the morning with their own water bottle and then want to fill it up during the day. Companies are adapting to this in order to be attractive, especially for younger people," smiles Robert Stolz, Head of Culligan Austria. Currently, the most common dispensers are those with a 19-liter plastic water barrel to quench thirst. These are supplied with the canisters under the Aqua Alpina brand that has been introduced.

However, the strongest growth, with sales recently totaling 20 million euros, is in newer devices from the US parent company Culligan, which are connected to the water pipe and can then supply sparkling, still and even hot water at the touch of a button. "Up to 160 liters per hour are possible, which is also sterilized using a UV lamp. Companies usually rent the dispensers for 50-60 euros per month, and we then provide a hygiene service every six months." Culligan has installed a total of 32,000 dispensers here.

The next step is to increase this to 36,000, and it is ultimately possible to double this, says Stolz. "The refill community is growing fast. 400 of the 500 largest companies in Austria are already our customers. The introduction of the plastic deposit will certainly provide a further boost." Disposable bottles and cans would then have to be carried back to the store and must not be crushed in order to be accepted by the deposit machines in shops.

Red Bull family Mateschitz is a neighbor of the water source
Culligan already has a 95% market share of water tank dispensers; the water comes from a source in Thalheim, Styria, where the current one million containers are filled each year. "Our neighbor is the Red Bull family Mateschitz, who get the water for their mineral water, soft drinks and beer from there."

Incidentally, Aqua Alpina was founded in 1997 by the Upper Austrian packaging giant Greiner, which was looking for additional business for its large plastic canisters. The company was then taken over by Culligan in 2019. In addition to dispensers for bulk consumers, the range also includes home systems (costing from 3,000 euros), which are installed under the tap in the kitchen and supply both sparkling and hot water. "This is already more widespread in France or among tea drinkers in the UK."